TexMessage: McCaul’s ‘Dear John’ to Iran

Good morning, TexMessagers. Rep. Michael McCaul wants to send a message to Iran, and he’s talking tough. Will anybody listen?

TEXclusive

Calling Iran a global threat, Rep. Michael McCaul announced Monday that he will chair a meeting Wednesday of the Homeland Security Counterterrorism and Intelligence Subcommittee to determine the extent of Iranian terror efforts within the U.S. and how the U.S. should respond. This announcement comes just weeks after two men, allegedly with Iranian government backing, tried to hire an assasin from a Mexican drug cartel to kill the Saudi Arabian ambassador in the United States.

Rep. Michael McCaul

“The Iranian Government is a threat to the international community; they are building weapons of mass destruction,” said McCaul, R-Austin. “Our hearing will examine the threats from the Iranian Government, the timid U.S responses and alternative responses to their continual attempts to do us harm.”
The assasination plot failed when the alleged conspirators revealed the scheme to an undercover informant posing as a member of a drug cartel, the FBI said. One suspect, Manssor Arbabsiar, pled not guilty to the conspiracy charge in a New York federal court Monday. The other uspect, Gholam Shakuri, is still sought by U.S. authorities.The assasination plot drew stern crtiticism of Iran from top government officials, including President Barack Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but McCaul said a repeat of past responses to Iran, like economic sanctions, just aren’t sufficient.
“It is obvious these sanctions are not working because the Iranian Government continues to believe it can do whatever it wants without consequences,” McCaul said. “This is no longer he case. Our message to Iran is simple: coontinue your attempts at threatening the national security of the United States and have no doubt there will be a punitive response.”

Perry Watch

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